September 2008 issue
Central Nervous System Products Draw Funds:
Venture Capital Investments Stoke Development of Drugs, Devices
Companies developing product candidates
for use on disorders and diseases of the central nervous system have taken
in a significant amount of venture capital funding in recent years.
...
E-Health In
The Venture Capital Spotlight:
Information Technology And Web-Based Solutions Attract Funding
August was the third-slowest month this year
for health care venture capital, but companies developing computer-based and
Web-based solutions and technology for health care applications continue to
attract investors.
...
Venture Capital Funds
Venture capital firms continue to close large funds that target investments
in the health care and other sectors
...
Mergers & Acquisitions
The health care mergers and acquisitions
announced in August include two deals that are each valued in excess of one
billion dollars.
...
Private Placements
Although private placement activity for public health care companies did
pick up in recent months, it slowed down again for August.
...
Sign
up for a trial subscription and get the current issue!
Read more about
Healthcare Corporate Finance
News Read the past
headlines.
Companies mentioned in this issue:
September 2008
A
A Better Tomorrow Center p5
AAVIN Equity p8
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals p3, p10
Achillion p10
Acorda Therapeutics p4
Adenosine Therapeutics p6
Aduromed Industries p11
Advent Venture Partners p8
Affinity Capital Management p2, p9
Affinity Ventures p8
Agate Medical Investments p2
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality p12
Alice Lab p2, p8
Allergan p3, p10
Allergy Research Group p5
ALZA p2
Ampersand Ventures p5
Anthera Pharmaceuticals p9
Apopharm p6
Apposite Capital p9
Arch Venture Partners p9
Artiman Ventures p8
Artiman Ventures p6
Ascension Health Ventures p6, p8
Astellas Venture Management p9
athenahealth p6
B
Bain Capital Ventures p9
Baird Venture Partners p2, p8
Banc of America Securities p4
BankInvest Group p9
Battelle Ventures p3
Bay City Capital p3
Bayer Schering Pharma p6
BGS Pharmacy Services p9
Bi-Op Laboratories p5
BioCrossroads Future Fund p2
BioImagene p6, p8
BioMedinvest p8
BioSpecifics Technologies p11
Bioton p6
Birchmere Ventures p3
BrainsGate p2, p8
BSI p8
BTF B.V. p2
Burch Investment Group p9
Burch Investors p9
Burrill & Company p6
C
Calibra Medical p8
Canaan Partners p2, p8
Canopy Financial p6, p9
CapitalSource p4
CapitalSource Healthcare REIT p4
Care Capital p2
CareCentrix p5
Cariten Health p5
Catapult Venture Managers p9
Caxton Advantage Life Sciences p9
Celleration p8
Celtic Healthcare p5
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services p12
Cerberus Partners p5
Chicago Growth Partners p8
CID Equity Capital p8
Citi p4
Clarian Health Ventures p8
Clarus Ventures p10
Clarus Ventures p8
CleveX p9
Clinical Data p6
CMEA Ventures p8
CoAxia p2
Cognitive Pharmaceuticals p2
CoLucid Pharmaceuticals p2
Community Health p5
Covance p6
Cowen Healthcare Royalty p6
CPT Services p6
Credit Suisse p4
Cross Creek Capital p9
CSL Ltd. p5
Curacyte Discovery p6
Cutlass Capital p8
CVS Caremark p5
Cytomedix p11
Cytori p11
D
Deutsche Bank Securities p4
Diker Management p11
Domain Associates p2
Dome Imaging Systems p6
Dundee Securities p11
DW Healthcare Partners p9
E
eDonor p6
EKR Therapeutics p3
Eli Lilly p2
Elitech Group p6
Elron Electronic p2, p8
Emergent Group p5
Emeritus Assisted Living p5
EPIX Pharmaceuticals p10
ESBATech p8
Evotec AG p3
EVP Capital Management p9
Expression Genetics p9
F
F2G Ltd. p9
FDA p12
Fidelity Biosciences p8
Flagship Ventures p8
Florida NetPASS p5
Flybridge Capital p9
Flybridge Capital Partners p6
Follica p9
Forerun p9
Forterus p5
Forum Health p5
Foster Stockbroking p11
Foundation Capital p6, p9
Frantz Medical Ventures p8
Frazier Healthcare p8
Frazier Healthcare Ventures p6, p8, p9
G
Galapagos NV p6
GE Asset Management p9
Genizon BioSciences p2
Genzyme Ventures p8
GlaxoSmithKline p6
Global Med Technologies p6
GluMetrics p9
Goldman, Sachs p4
Griffin Securities p11
Grotech Capital Group p9
GrowthWorks Capital Working Opportunity Fund p2
H
Harvard University p8
Hayes Inc. p12
HBM BioCapital p8, p9
HBM BioVentures p8
HCP, Inc. p4
HealthCap p3
Healthcare Scoop p12
HealthCare Ventures p8
HealthExtras p5
Heron Capital p8
HLM Venture Partners p9
HLM Ventures p9
Humana p5
I
iBioPharma p11
ICCP Ventures p6, p8
IFCI Venture Capital Fund p9
Immediate Pharmaceutical p5
Indevus Pharmaceuticals p10
InteKrin Therapeutics p9
International Stem Cell p11
InterSouth p8
InterWest Partners p3
Investor Growth Capital p10
IR BioSciences Holdings p11
J
James Richardson & Sons p2
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health p12
Johnson & Johnson Development p2
JPMorgan p4
K
Kaiser Permanente Ventures p9
KfW p9
Khosla Ventures p9
KI NutriCare/Kikkoman p5
Kingsbridge Capital p10
L
LabCorp p12
Lehman Brothers p9, p11
LLR Partners p3
London Seed Capital p9
Longs Drug Stores p5
Lorus Therapeutics p11
M
Marck Bioscience p9
Massachusetts Development Technology Corp. p9
Massachusetts Development Technology Corporation p9
Maverick Capital p8
Mayo Clinic p12
MB Venture Capital p8
MB Venture Capital p2
Meda p6
MedAssets p9
Medco Health Solutions p12
Medicalis p9
MedicalMessaging.net p6
Mediphase Venture Partners p8
Medline Industries p12
Memory Pharmaceuticals p11
Merck p2, p3
Merifin p8
Merrill Lynch p4
Michelson Diagnostics p9
Milestone Biosciences p6
Mithridion p2
Molina Healthcare p5
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbil p12
Morgan Stanley p9, p10
Mosaix Ventures p8
MPM BioCapital p3
MPM Capital p2, p8
Mustang Ventures p9
MVM Life Sciences Partners p9
N
Nanogen p6
National HealthCare p5
National Healthcare Services p6, p8
NDS Surgical Imaging p6
Neuro Discovery p2
Neuro3d p3
Neuromed Pharmaceuticals p2
New Enterprise Associates p8
New Enterprise Associates p6
New Leaf Venture Partners p10
New Leaf Ventures p9
New Science Ventures p8
NewSpring p3
Not disclosed p11
NovaCardia p3
Novartis BioVentures p8
Novartis Option Fund p8
Novelos Therapeutics p11
nTelagent p9
NuPathe p3
O
Olympus Corporation p11
Opexa Therapeutics p11
Owens & Minor p5
P
Pacific Growth Equities p10
Pappas Ventures p2
Passport Health p6
Patient Safety Technologies p11
PatientKeeper p6, p9
Paul Capital Healthcare p8
Pearl Street Venture Funds p2
Pfizer p6
PharmaGap p11
Photo Therapeutics p6
PhotoMedex p6
Piper Jaffray p11
Pitango Venture Capital p2, p8
Plymouth Venture Partners p9
Polaris Venture Partners p9
Polpharma p6
Prism Opportunity Fund p8
Prism Venture Partners p2
Procter & Gamble p8
Profex p9
ProMetic Life Sciences p11
ProQuest Investments p10
Proteome Systems p11
Proteostasis Therapeutics p8
PureTech Ventures p9
Q
Quaker BioVentures p3
Quanterix p9
R
RiverVest Venture Partners p8
Rx America p5
S
S.R. One p3
Safeguard Scientifics p3
Salient Surgical p4
Sareum Holdings p6
Seattle Medical Technologies p8
Seneca Health Partners p8
Serentis p9
Signature Diagnostics p9
Signet Healthcare Partners p8
Skyline p8
Skyline Ventures p8, p9
Sofinnova p3
Sofinnova Ventures p9
Special Situations Fund p10
Specialty European Pharma p8
Spectrum Equity Investors p6
SpePharm p8
Spineology p9
St. Jude Medical p6
Stanley Medical Research Institute p11
State of Wisconsin Investment Board p2
Stifel, Nicolaus p10
Sutter Hill Ventures p8
SV Life Sciences p8
SVB Capital Partners p2
T
Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings p5
Talecris Plasma Resources p5
Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals p8
The Burrows Company p5
The Medicines Company p6
Three Arch Partners p8
Transition Therapeutics p6
Triathlon Medical Ventures p2, p8
Trident Capital p9
Trimedyne p6
TVM Capital p8
U
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine p12
V
Vapotherm p9
Ventas REIT p4
Venture Investors p2, p8
Versant Ventures p3
Vista Cove Senior p5
W
Water Street Capital p5
Wellington West Capital p11
Whitney & Company p9
Wisconsin Investment Partners p2
WorldHeart p10
WPWIII Cap LP p9
Wyoming Valley Health p5
X
Xoft p8
Xtend Medical p11
Z
ZocDoc p9
Zogenix p4 |
Central Nervous System Products Draw Funds:
Venture Capital Investments Stoke Development of Drugs, Devices
Email this article to a friend
Email Editor
In recent years, a
significant amount of venture capital funding has been invested in
companies focused on developing treatments for disorders and diseases of
the brain and central nervous system. In a broad sense, this group
includes companies working on pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and
medical devices to treat conditions including Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease, migraine headaches, arthritis pain, multiple
sclerosis and stroke, as well as schizophrenia and other psychiatric
indications.
From January 2003 through August 31, 2008, there were 200 venture capital
investments announced by these kinds of companies, totaling $3.8 billion.
Most are pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, but there are
also several medical device companies, some biotechnology companies and
even a few e-health and other health care services companies.
Many of the companies in this broad group are focused on developing
therapeutic products for various types of pain and pain management,
including arthritis pain and pain related to cancer and cancer treatment.
In some cases, venture-backed companies are working on new formulations or
products based on existing, approved therapies. For example, Neuromed
Pharmaceuticals is developing drugs for chronic pain by improving on
the safety and efficacy of existing drugs, including an extended-release
hydromorphone formulation that it acquired from ALZA and another
compound being developed with Merck (NYSE: MRK). In August 2007,
Neuromed raised $53.3 million from MPM Capital, James Richardson &
Sons, Neuro Discovery, GrowthWorks Capital Working Opportunity Fund
and other investors.
CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, which was founded in 2005, announced in
January 2006 that it secured $16.5 million in Series A financing, in part
to support clinical trials of a clinical-stage migraine molecule it has
licensed from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). BioCrossroads Future Fund,
Domain Associates, Pappas Ventures, Triathlon Medical Ventures and
Pearl Street Venture Funds invested in the round. More recently, in
July CoLucid announced it raised $25 million in Series B financing from
investors led by Care Capital and including the Series A investors.
The company completed a phase II clinical trial last year, examining the
efficacy of the molecule in the acute treatment of migraine after
intravenous administration, and reported that the trial provided clear
evidence of safe, effective alleviation of migraine pain, and identified a
range of doses that provided relief of migraine symptoms and were well
tolerated.
Several companies are focused on the development of treatments for stroke,
including BrainsGate, a medical device company that has developed a
therapeutic platform based on electrical neurostimulation of the spheno-palatine
ganglion. BrainsGate’s leading indication is acute ischemic stroke with a
24-hour treatment window. Johnson & Johnson Development, Agate Medical
Investments, Elron Electronic, Pitango Venture Capital, MB Venture Capital
and Alice Lab invested in BrainsGate’s $27.5 million Series C
financing, just announced in August.
CoAxia, another medical device company focused on developing
technology for use in the treatment of strokes, also announced a venture
capital round this year. In April, CoAxia closed on $11.5 million of
additional equity financing from existing investors, including Canaan
Partners, Prism Venture Partners, Baird Venture Partners, Affinity Capital
Management, Johnson & Johnson Development and SVB Capital Partners.
The funding enables CoAxia to continue a pivotal trial of its NeuroFlo
catheter device for perfusion augmentation therapy in acute ischemic
stroke, involving a dual-balloon endo-vascular device for augmenting blood
flow to the brain.
Some other companies in this space are focused on diseases associated with
age progression, including, but not necessarily exclusively, Alzheimer’s
disease and age-associated memory impairment. One, Genizon BioSciences,
has developed maps of genes and biomarkers involved in schizophrenia,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, endometriosis, psoriasis and
Crohn’s disease. Genizon announced a $31 million investment from BTF
B.V. in January and is currently doing studies in rheumatoid arthritis
and in Alzheimer’s disease. More recently, Mithridion announced a
$2.3 million Series B financing round in June, which included Venture
Investors, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Wisconsin
Investment Partners. Concurrent with the financing, Mithridion
announced its merger with Cognitive Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. Both
entities are drug discovery and development companies focusing on drugs
for Alzheimer’s disease and other serious disorders of the central nervous
system. Mithridion, Inc. is the surviving entity and will maintain its
headquarters and preclinical drug research laboratories in Madison,
Wisconsin. Mithridion had previously announced a $2.2 million venture
round in April 2007.
Still others in this space are specifically focused on conditions such as
schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. Among venture-backed
companies that have been acquired is Neuro3d, a France-based
company developing product candidates for the treatment of depression,
anxiety, schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. Before being
acquired by Evotec AG (FSX: EVT) for $38.9 million in March 2007,
Neuro3d had closed a $43 million venture round in 2005 and a $12 million
round in 2003, with Sofinnova and HealthCap among its
investors.
More recently, in July 2008, NuPathe, a specialty pharma developing
product candidates for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological
diseases, announced a $30 million financing, from Quaker BioVentures,
S.R. One, Safeguard Scientifics, Bay City Capital, Birchmere Ventures
and Battelle Ventures. NuPathe’s products include a transdermal
patch for acute migraine and a long acting injectable implant for treating
Parkinson’s disease.
Some companies in this space have received venture funding to support
their development work, then gone public and announced PIPE deals. For
example, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD), which in 2003 (when
it was still privately held) closed its Series F financing with $28
million, announced in August that it entered into a $60 million committed
equity financing facility. ACADIA is a biopharma utilizing a proprietary
technology to discover and develop treatments for central nervous system
disorders. Its most advanced product candidates include a phase III
compound for Parkinson’s disease psychosis and a phase II compound for
chronic pain, being developed in collaboration with Allergan (NYSE:
AGN).
Several companies are developing products for disorders and diseases of
the central nervous system, but a smaller number actually make it to
market. For example, as of July 2007, only five drugs were approved by the
FDA to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. In the case of pain
management, developers continue an ongoing search to identify or
reformulate drugs with the most favorable safety and efficacy profiles. It
seems likely that investors will continue to support companies’ efforts to
bring therapeutic drugs and products to the ever-aging population.
|
|
FREE TRIAL
TO
HEALTHCARE CORPORATE FINANCE NEWS!
If you like this article, there’s lots more
waiting for you in the Healthcare Corporate Finance News.
Sign up for two free months right now! There’s no
obligation, no writing “cancel” on a bill. Happy reading!
|
|
|
|
|
|
